Angel Martinez is our No. 12 Guardians prospect. Who should be No. 13?

Angel Martinez is our No. 12 prospect, earning 30% of the vote on Wednesday and beating out the competition by over 30 votes.

After the vaunted 2017 international signing class, Martinez was one of the headliners of the 2018 class, signing for $500,000 as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic.

It didn’t take Martinez long to make a good first impression. He put up solid numbers in the Dominican Summer League as a 17-year-old in 2019, slashing .306/.402/.428, good for a 134 wRC+. After the lost 2020 season due to COVID, he skipped Arizona entirely and jumped straight to full-season ball in 2021, where he had a slightly down year with a 92 wRC+ as a 19-year-old.

Martinez’s breakout campaign was 2022, when he absolutely dominated High-A Lake County with a 139 wRC+ after slugging 10 home runs and slashing .288/.384/.477. His performance earned him a promotion to Double-A Akron, where he didn’t miss a beat with a 120 wRC+ over 24 games, which vaulted him to many top 10 prospect rankings in the system and he was added to the club’s 40-man roster in the offseason.

In 2023, the switch-hitting Martinez repeated at Double-A, but he could not repeat his success, although he was better in the second half of the year after getting off to an extremely slow start. He was league average, seeing his walk-rate drop below 10% for the first time in his career. His power numbers also dropped. After sporting a career-best ISO of .189 and .207 in 2022, it dropped to .146 at Double-A and then to .134 after he was promoted to Triple-A.

Martinez finished the 2023 season with 37 games at Triple-A, where his contact was fine with a .268 batting average, but his walk rate plummeted to 6.5% and his strikeout rate spiked to a career-high 23.4%. He’ll likely begin the 2024 season with Columbus and he has his work cut out for him if he wants to stand out from the pack in Cleveland’s middle infield logjam. Word on the street says he put in some work defensively in the outfield in the offseason, which could help him out.

Alex Clemmey, LHP (Age 18)

2023: Second round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft.

Standing 6-foot-6 with a 99 mph fastball and a filthy curveball, Clemmey had one of the most electric arms of all high school prep prospects for 2023, but lacks command.

Deyvison De Los Santos, 1B/3B (Age 20)

2023 (AA): 481 PA, .254/.297/.431, 20 HR, 4 SB, 5.2 BB%, 26.0 K%, 88 wRC+

Selected by Cleveland in the 2023 Rule 5 Draft out of Arizona’s farm system, the powerful De Los Santos will need to spend the entire 2024 season at the MLB level or be returned.

Jose Devers, SS/3B (Age 20)

2023 (A): 458 PA, .252/.345/.398, 11 HR, 34 SB, 10.5 BB%, 20.1 K%, 113 wRC+

.Cousin of Red Sox 3B Rafael Devers, Jose made his full-season debut in 2023 and showcased impressive speed on the basepaths and some decent pop.

Welbyn Francisca, SS (Age 17)

2023 (DSL): 179 PA, .316/.419/.500, 3 HR, 11 SB, 13.4 BB%, 19.6 K%, 144 wRC+

The top-rated international signing by Cleveland in 2022, Francisca impressed in his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League.

Angel Genao, SS/3B (Age 19)

2023 (A): 316 PA, .263/.345/.385, 4 HR, 6 SB, 10.8 BB%, 15.5 K%, 110 wRC+

Impressed in his first full-season at Single-A as a teenager in 2023. Was one of the youngest players at the level and was above average with a 110 wRC+.

Parker Messick, LHP (Age 23)

2023: (A) 13 GS, 56.2 IP, 3.02 ERA, 2.73 FIP, 26.0 K%, 6.0 BB%
2023: (A+) 11 GS, 65.0 IP, 4.43 ERA, 4.86 FIP, 26.3 K%, 8.8 BB%

Cleveland’s second round pick in 2022, Messick showcased consistent stuff at both Lynchburg and Lake County in his debut season while staying healthy.

Rafael Ramirez Jr., SS (Age 18)

2023 (CPX): 190 PA, .250/.453/.426, 4 HR, 6 SB, 26.3 BB%, 28.4 K%, 133 wRC+

Impressed as a 17-year-old in the Arizona Complex League in 2023 and could be a fast-riser in prospect rankings. Ramirez Jr. is the son of former MLB All-Star Rafael Ramirez.

Cade Smith, RHP (Age 24)

2023: (AA) 17 G, 22.0 IP, 2.86 ERA, 2.73 FIP, 31.5 K%, 9.8 BB%
2023: (AAA) 30 G, 40.2 IP, 4.65 ERA, 3.79 FIP, 37.1 K%, 10.7 BB%

Reliever standing 6-foot-5 with an elite strikeout rate and mid 90s velocity. Smith was added to the 40-man roster and should help Cleveland’s bullpen in 2024.

Jose Tena, SS (Age 22)

2023 (AA): 362 PA, .260/.353/.3750, 4 HR, 16 SB, 11.3 BB%, 28.7 K%, 103 wRC+
2023 (AAA): 66 PA, .350/.394/.667, 4 HR, 0 SB, 6.1 BB%, 25.8 K%, 157 wRC+
2023 (MLB): 34 PA, .226/.294/.290, 0 HR, 0 SB, 8.8 BB%, 38.2 K%, 66 wRC+

In a crowded middle infield, Tena was slightly above average in Double-A, then had a great Triple-A performance in a small sample size before making his MLB debut in 2023.

Ryan Webb, LHP (Age 24)

2023: (A+) 17 GS, 82.0 IP, 3.29 ERA, 3.70 FIP, 23.8 K%, 9.7 BB%
2023: (AFL) 6 GS, 22.2 IP, 4.37 ERA, 3.97 FIP, 37.8 K%, 14.7 BB%

A fourth round pick in 2021 who had to recover from Tommy John surgery, Webb has shown flashes of brilliance and most recently led the 2023 AFL in strikeouts.